Pursuit through streets of SeaTac ends with multi-car crash

Updated 7:32 pm, Sunday, October 21, 2012

Emergency vehicles respond to a rollover crash after a chase of another vehicle through the streets of SeaTac.

Emergency vehicles respond to a rollover crash after a chase of another vehicle through the streets of SeaTac.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Emergency vehicles respond to a rollover crash after a chase of another vehicle through the streets of SeaTac.

Emergency vehicles respond to a rollover crash after a chase of another vehicle through the streets of SeaTac.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM

Pursuit through streets of SeaTac ends with multi-car crash

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A man on the run from police rammed a patrol car and crashed his car into at least three other vehicles Sunday afternoon during a wild chase through the streets of SeaTac, officials said.

The man was later arrested after he jumped from his wrecked vehicle and tried to run from the crash scene, at the intersection of South 154th Street and 42nd Avenue.

Among the vehicles damaged in the crash was a car containing a harp worth $30,000. That car, driven by professional harpist Juliette Stratton, was hit in the side with such force that it was knocked completely over onto its top.

"He pushed me for a while and flipped my car over, and so I'm hearing glass crashing, and I thought it was the end," says Stratton, who has played the harp since 1985. "I thought, 'I'm not going to make it out of this.'"

Then, just as Stratton's car stopped sliding across the street on its roof, a patrol car chasing the suspect's car hit an oil patch and slammed into Stratton's car, too.

Finally, Stratton was able to crawl out of the car on her own. She was uninjured except for a scratch on her hand. But her greatest worry was not for herself or her car but her harp. She won't know whether it was damaged until police clear the scene and her car is towed away.

King County Sheriff's officials say the incident began at around 3:45 p.m. when King County Sheriff's deputies received a 911 call about a suspicious person prowling cars at the parking lot of Highline High School.

When an officer arrived, the suspect was in his car. He rammed the deputy's patrol car then took off, with the deputy chasing after him.

The chase continued through the streets of SeaTac as the suspect crashed into one car after another. Finally, after crashing into Stratton's car, his own vehicle was too damaged to keep going.

The man then jumped out of his car and tried to flee from the scene on foot, but deputies quickly captured him, cuffed him and placed him under arrest.

The suspect now faces several potential charges. He told deputies he had two previous DUIs. Officers plan to obtain a search warrant to see if there are any stolen valuables in his wrecked car.